Question 1

How to define nested commands with clipp?

Accepted Answer

Use the `command()` function within groups and alternatives, as shown in the complex nesting example. For instance, `command("build") | command("query")` creates alternatives, and nesting them with `&` or `in_sequence` allows hierarchical structures like multi-level CLIs.

Question 2

clipp or Boost.Program_options for C++ argument parsing?

Accepted Answer

clipp offers a more modern, declarative syntax and automatic documentation generation, while Boost.Program_options is more verbose but part of a widely-used library with broader ecosystem support. Choose clipp for expressiveness and self-documenting code, Boost for stability and integration with other Boost components.

Question 3

How to validate input values with custom filters in clipp?

Accepted Answer

Use the `value()` function with a predicate, such as `value(is_char, "c", c)` where `is_char` is a lambda. clipp provides built-in filters for numbers and words, and custom filters can be implemented as function objects that return a boolean or subrange.

Question 4

Does clipp support environment variable parsing?

Accepted Answer

No, clipp is focused solely on command line argument parsing. For environment variables, you need to handle them separately in your code, typically using standard library functions like `getenv()` or platform-specific APIs.

Question 5

How to reduce compile times when using clipp?

Accepted Answer

Since clipp is header-only and template-heavy, compile times can be high. Mitigate this by using precompiled headers, limiting inclusion to specific translation units, or considering alternative parsers if compilation speed is critical.

Question 6

clipp documentation generation examples

Accepted Answer

clipp can generate usage lines with `usage_lines()`, detailed documentation with `documentation()`, and man pages with `make_man_page()`. The README shows examples with formatting options, such as setting column widths and merging alternatives for cleaner output.

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